Printed and incised media such as perforated media, scored media, cut media, and embossed media is widely used. For example, many creditors' statements include printed customer-related financial information and a perforated section containing printed customer identification information. The debtor usually detaches the perforated section from the statement and includes it when mailing payment to the creditor. Also, many checks are printed on perforated stock so they can be easily printed in a printer and then detached at the perforations after printing. Examples of common scored media include letters, which are folded to place in envelopes, brochures, and the like. Scoring heavy media is necessary to obtain a neat and clean fold. Similarly, embossed media, wherein all or a portion of the media is raised above the remaining portion of the media, is also quite popular. Examples of embossed media include invitations, business cards, and the like.
Usually, the processes of printing, cutting, embossing, perforating and scoring media are accomplished in different steps using different equipment. For example, check stock is usually manufactured by first printing the check on the media using a printer. Then, perforations are added to each check using a perforating machine. These processes are usually performed by a check manufacturer who then delivers a stack of sequentially numbered blank checks to an ordering customer. The customer uses each check by placing them one a time into a printer and printing specific financial information, such as the payee and amount, in appropriately identified spaces on the check.
Similarly, the process of embossing business cards, invitations, and the like usually requires printing information on the media using a printer, then embossing predefined places on that media using an embossing machine.
Brochure media and cover stock is either pre-scored before printing or scored after printing but before folding.
Small and economical printers are widely known and used. One particularly economical yet sophisticated printer is commonly known as an ink-jet printer. Ink-jet printers produce images and text on a page by firing drops of ink from the printheads of one or more ink cartridges secured to a carriage, while the carriage moves back and forth across the page. Examples of ink-jet printers include plotters, facsimile machines, and typical computer-attached ink-jet printers. The page on which a printer prints may be any sheet of media, such as paper, Mylar, foils, transparencies, card stock, check stock, and the like.
The ink supply of an ink-jet printer is limited. Thus, many cartridges are designed to be detachably secured and replaceable. A user simply replaces the old, empty ink cartridge with a new, full ink cartridge. In these so-called cartridge-type printers, the cartridges can be manufactured as a unit that includes a printhead and an ink reservoir (referred to as an “ink/printhead cartridge” herein). Thus, these types of ink/printhead cartridges are seated in a carriage that travels back and forth across the page during printing operation. Alternatively, the printhead can be secured to the carriage with the ink reservoir either attached at a separate location on the carriage and detachably secured to the printhead or positioned off the carriage with an ink tube extending to the printhead.
The ink head and carriage are in communication with a computer system that controls the movement of the carriage and the activation of the printhead to allow the printer to produce desired images and text on the media. The control system for these types of printers has become so precise, ink-jet printers can now reproduce extremely high print quality and even high-resolution photographs onto the media. The computer system usually includes a user interface, such as a word processing program or photograph display program, to assist user input of the desired image layout on the media.
A contributing factor in this improved precision is the ability to actuate very small actuators in the printhead. These printing actuators and related control systems can now be mass-produced inexpensively, leading to the affordable cost of the printer. Accordingly, complex and high quality printing, which previously could only have been performed by a printing company with large and expensive printing equipment, can now be performed by individuals and small businesses using only their personal computer and attached personal printer.
In contrast, despite the improvements in print quality and cost reductions of printers, there has been no similar improvement in media cutting, scoring, perforating, and embossing devices. This equipment has remained relatively bulky and expensive. Accordingly, such equipment is primarily limited to stationery and business form manufacturing companies. Few, if any, small and home businesses, invest in their own incising equipment. As a result, most individuals and businesses must order pre-incised media such as checks, business cards, and the like from these limited sources. Such pre-ordering needlessly increases the time and expense of using incised media.